[Ummon]

Is there a way to transition to post scarcity while minimizing violence and possible threat to mankind's existence?

[Figlio di Moros]

I approached the issue here

[TechnocracyTNAT]

"You must decide. There are several ways of meeting the situation.

You can have a swift, orderly transition into an era of abundance or you can have chaos. If you continue to do what you are doing now, you will get chaos and get it decidedly messy. You cannot have, either, a communist revolution or a fascist coup d'état. In Petrograd, they could smash up rail, telegraph, and telephone communications and put barricades across the streets and keep them there for sixty years. Nobody in particular would be affected by it. The population is largely agrarian and self-supporting. But if you tried that in New York City, 9 million people would be at the deadline in just five hours and eighteen minutes. If the armed forces of the State of New Jersey were to take over the state and operate it, within 72 hours they would have to take over and operate 38 states. Our system here is tenuous and interdependent. If 130 million people in the United States want to abandon the Price System, the balance of the continent would have to follow within a year. What would happen if rail transportation were tied up on the western prairies for ten days in a blizzard? It is a long way to wood or coal. You'd have a lot of frozen meat. Technocracy does not have any "assumption of power" theory. Such a theory is European, philosophical and has no bearing on the situation here. Over there, all a government can do is assume power. When it has it, it's through. No European government can by that or any other means raise the standard of living one iota. Over here a technological control would raise the present load factor of all industrial equipment from .05 to .90. This would mean an immediate increase in the standard of living by 18 times. Another way you could meet the situation is by shooting all your technicians and dumping all your plants and equipment into the sea. That would suit us perfectly, for then our troubles would be over; but yours would only begin. In 30 days you would be eating each other -- and they'll eat the fat men first. We don't develop any feeling of anger against those who would like to shoot us. What we resent is those who make us live this way.

You women have the power to bring about a functional control. You have all heard about what a fine thing it is to give your children to your country in the time of need. When you find that you can no longer take care of your children, just take your year-old babies and give them to your country. If you cannot take care of your children, it is only just and meet that your government should do it for you. The children would not suffer. Not a single one would die. Within 24 hours, every doctor, dentist, and nurse would be conscripted to care for them. They would be working for their country. They would be all through with the lucrative chisels called private practice. A load like that would wreck any political government overnight. The transition to a functional control would take place immediately. Your children belong to your country. Then give your children to your king!

- HOWARD SCOTT TOUR IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA Sept. and Oct., 1937
archive.org/details/TheWordsAndWisdomOfHowardScott